To Be The One Everybody Hates
by neuroticperoxideblonde
Summary: Charlie and Sawyer friendship fic. Have decided that it's not going to be a oneshot. will update later.
1. Chapter 1

Heh heh….this is my first oneshot. Well, unless someone likes it and asks me to write more. Then it will be a long story. However, I'm a slow updater, so it would take a while, but I'm willing to write it if someone's willing to read it. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost. I do, however, own my own jar of imaginary peanut butter. I so need to go grocery shopping again.

Ohh….and another thing. I'm actually from the "deep south", so the way Sawyer talks in this fic is the way everyone that lives around me talks.

This takes place after the fight between Locke and Charlie (the actual fist fight not earlier verbal ones)

* * *

Charlie grimaced as he fell into the ocean. The salt water burned the wounds on his face, and his vision was blurred. Maybe if he pretended he was too hurt to move, Locke would stop. He groaned as he realized he didn't need to pretend. He really couldn't move.

John went to punch him again when a strong arm reached out and stopped him.

"Back off!" a voice roared, and Charlie watched as Sawyer flung John to the ground.

Locke picked himself up and glared at the con man. Deciding against getting his butt kicked, he huffed and walked off in the other direction.

"And you, what're ya'll lookin' at? Beat it!" Sawyer yelled at the crowd.

The people quickly scattered. Most left out of fear but some just out of disgust. As soon as he was sure they were alone, Sawyer turned his attention to the younger man.

"Seems you've gotten yourself into some trouble, huh?" he smirked and offered Charlie a hand up.

The musician allowed himself to be pulled up only to collapse on his knees and start vomiting. Sawyer winced slightly in sympathy and held him up until he finished.

"Okay. Look up."

"Wot? Why?"

"Just look up, so I can see how bad you're hurt."

Charlie did as he was told and let the older man examine his face. Sawyer let out a low whistle.

"C'mon, kid, let's get you to Doc."

"I'm fine."

"Sure you're fine, and all that blood pouring out of your face is just your way of luring us some live dinner."

"I said I'm fine."

"Look. You need stitches, and with the whole barfing thing, I'm pretty sure you got a concussion too. So either go with me to see the doc, or I'll beat you up myself and take you. Either way, you're going to get there"  
Charlie sighed and nodded that he would go. Sawyer helped him up again, and the two started towards the caves.

"Why aware you helpin' me anyway?"

"Cuz,….I know what it's like to be the one everybody hates," .


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: still don't own. 

Due to all my lovely reviews, I'll add some chapters (slowly but yeah, just slowly)

Sawyer watched as Jack cleaned and then stitched the wound on Charlie's head. The younger man looked horrible. Besides the injuries, there were the bags under his eyes, and his completely lost expression.

"It looks like you've got a mild concussion," Jack stated as he checked Charlie's pupils. "You should stay here tonight, so I can keep an eye on your condition and make sure it doesn't get worse."

Charlie shook his head. "No, I just want to go to sleep," he mumbled tiredly.

"You can't sleep yet," the doctor informed him.

The youngest man looked extremely close to crying right when he was told that. Sawyer couldn't help but feel bad for him and tried to think back to what he had done the several times he had gotten a concussion.

"Hey, Doc"

Jack turned towards Sawyer with a slightly bemused expression. "Yes?" He still hadn't figured out why it was the Southern man had even bothered to bring Charlie to him, nevertheless actually stay to make sure he was alright. At least he thought that was why he had stayed.

"Isn't it true that you can sleep with a concussion if you have someone waking you up every two hours?"

Jack, surprised that Sawyer would know something like that, hesitated a moment before replying. "Yes, that's true. Why?"

"Then why don't you let the kid sleep before he passes out?"

"I would, but in his condition, I'd prefer if he was woken up every hour. And I'm not going to be able to do that. I have to check on a pregnant woman, who could go into labor any moment, take care of some people that somehow got food poisoning, and …."

"We get it. You're busy, so why not just let me keep an eye on him?"

Jack glanced at Charlie then back at Sawyer. The musician looked like he was about to fall asleep at any second, and for once the con man actually looked serious.

The doctor sighed then gave a curt nod to Sawyer. "Fine, but do not let him sleep for more than one hour at a time." He handed him two pills. "These are for the pain. Give them to him only if the pain becomes too unbearable."

Sawyer nodded and pocketed the pills before moving to help Charlie. Jack watched curiously as he carefully moved the smaller man to lean against him, deciding he would take him to his own tent instead of having to go past everyone else's camps to get to Charlie's.

He wondered about the sudden change that had appeared in the con man. What could have happened to make him act so strangely? Especially towards someone so different from him.

When he was sure Jack couldn't see his expression, Sawyer grinned to himself. He knew he had confused the doctor, and while that wasn't the reason he had offered to take care of the "VH1 reject", he had to take a certain amount of pleasure from it while he could.

The two finally made it to Sawyer's tent, managing to avoid running into anyone on the way. The last thing they needed was another fight. Well, the last thing Charlie needed was another fight, Sawyer still had some of an adrenaline rush from when he had punched Locke and was kind of wanting to take out some of his energy on someone.

Helping Charlie to lay on the bench thingy (I couldn't remember what it was, and I'm too lazy to go pop in the dvd., but think of the episode right after Sayid stabs Sawyer in the shoulder) he had in his tent, Sawyer noticed that the younger man immediately fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

Sighing, the older man checked his watch to see the time before grabbing a book and taking a seat across from his "patient." It was going to be a long day.

TO BE CONTINUED 

hope you guys liked the update. I'll try to get the next one posted sooner. later

please R&R.


	3. Chapter 3

**hey everyone! Because of the nice reviews I got last night or this morning...not sure, and slightly due to the fact I had no classes today, I have written another chapter. (Be amazed. lol) I'm starting to actually develop a plot line now, even though a bit of it is borrowed from the episode _The Long Con.  
_****  
Disclaimer: I still don't own the show. However, I did buy series 1 on dvd, and am going to buy series 2 at the end of this month. When I get my very small allowance. (don't sue. pretty please. My allowance barely manages to cover the tax on a pack of gum.)**

Charlie groaned as he once again felt Sawyer shaking him awake. "You know," he gritted out, "this is really starting to get on my nerves."

Even though he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he knew that the older man was wearing his infamous smirk as a chuckle sounded at his remark.

"Well, I'll give you a decision. I can keep waking you up every hour, or I could let you sleep and fall into a coma that you may never wake up from again. Your choice."

Charlie immaturely stuck out his tongue at Sawyer before answering. "I'll take my risks. Let me sleep."

And there was that chuckle again. "Lucky for you, I'm a jerk. I always let you have what you don't want, so looks like I'll have to keep waking you up every hour. Wouldn't want my reputation ruined now, would I?"

Charlie could have thrown back several comments about how the Southerner's tough guy reputation had already been ruined by helping him out, but instead he chose to go back to sleep.

Less than an hour later, the musician awoke again, but this time on his own free will. He looked over and saw that Sawyer was still sitting and reading. Shouldn't it be dark by now? What time was it anyway? As if reading the other man's mind, Sawyer soon interrupted Charlie's thoughts.

"Good morning," the older man replied slightly sarcastically before continuing, "You slept through last night."

Charlie nodded then winced as he realized that probably wasn't the smartest thing he had ever done. Sawyer marked a spot in the book before tossing it on top of some others piled in a corner. "So, want something to eat or something?"

Even the thought of food was enough to make him feel sick. "Water would be good."

He watched as Sawyer got up to grab a bottle of water and handed it to him. He cautiously took a few sips, pausing every so often to make sure the liquid would stay down before handing the bottle back.

"Whenever you're more awake, you're going to have to see the doc again. That is, if he doesn't come check on you first."

Charlie rolled his eyes. Of course, Jack would come check on him. The guy made it his business to take care of everyone else and to forget completely about his own health. Masochistic git.

Sure enough in only a few moments, Jack appeared at Sawyer's camp. However, it seemed Charlie's health wasn't the reason for his visit. "Where is it?" He asked angrily storming into Sawyer's tent and throwing things around.

"Where is what?" Sawyer asked with a cheeky grin, but even Charlie could tell the blonde was getting annoyed by the doctor's actions. Suddenly Jack stopped his search and held up the bottle of now found pills.

"The medicine you stole from the hatch."

"You stole them from me."

"What?"

Sawyer glared at Jack. "When I left, they were in my stash. I was just getting back what was mine."

Charlie watched quietly from where he lay as Jack went on about how the medicine belonged to everyone on the island and such. He was really starting to wish he would stop yelling. His head was killing him enough as it was. Strangely, he noticed that during the entire argument, Sawyer had somehow managed to keep his voice at a bearable level. Still threatening and lethal sounding, but not as loud as the doctor's.

Finally, it seemed as though the fight was about to end. Sawyer threatened Jack, and the doctor turned to leave.

"Hey. Wait a minute." Sawyer called out. Jack paused and turned back around.

"What?"

"Keep your voice down," the con man muttered before pointing at Charlie. "Make sure the kid's alright before you leave."

Jack looked over at the musician seeming to notice his presence for the first time. "Oh, hey, Charlie."

After quickly examining the younger man, the doctor told him that everything looked fine, and that his headache, which was probably just soreness from the punch to the head, should go away in only a few hours.

Sawyer glared at Jack as the man left, but as soon as the doctor was out of sight, he took a seat grinning madly. "That was an exciting way to start the morning," he joked before laughing at Charlie's confused expression.

Charlie inwardly groaned and wondered what kind of mess he had gotten himself into. This new "friendship" was bound to lead to trouble.

to be continue...


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I still don't own, but I am buying every magazine with information on the show I can find. Lol.**

**Currently I am : obsessively counting down to October 4 when the new episodes being showing! Can't wait!**

Charlie spent the rest of the day resting in Sawyer's tent while the older man continued to read. The musician absently noted the fact that the conman was wearing a new pair of glasses. He and Sayid must have formed some sort of truce.

It was quiet in the tent. Both were trying to forget Jack's earlier tantrum, and the fact that Charlie still had a migraine had kept both from saying much. Finally, he got fed up with the silence. "Aren't you going to ask me why I did it?"

Sawyer didn't even bother looking up from his book. "Did what?"

"I don't know…start the fire, kidnap a baby, got beat up by Locke?"

"Kind of thought you hadn't planned the last one."

"I didn't."

Sawyer sighed and looked the musician in the eyes. "I gave up trying to figure out why people do what they do several years ago, and I ain't about to start wondering now. Besides," he smirked, " it's not like I can judge anyone. Be kind of hypocritical don't ya think?"

Charlie looked away, but inwardly he was kind of relieved that there was at least one person on the island who wouldn't be questioning him about his actions.

"And while I'm not going to judge you, I am going to offer you a little proposition."

Charlie bit his lip. Sawyer's propositions didn't usually mean anything good. But who else did he have to trust right now? He nodded his head. "What?"

"How would you like to get a little revenge on Baldy?"

Charlie smiled. This proposition was starting to sound interesting. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Sawyer smirked. "Oh, it's not that hard." Sawyer put his book away and began to explain his plan to the younger man.

About an hour later, Charlie had agreed to help the older man out and knew all the details of the plan. Now they would just have to wait for the perfect time to execute their little plot.

After having been up so long, Charlie began to feel a little light-headed and decided that he was going to get a some more rest thinking that Sawyer would go back to his book. However, the older man had other plans in mind.

Noticing the state of his tent the Southern man gave an annoyed sigh. "The man just barges in, steals from me, and doesn't even have the courtesy to clean up after himself." He started to get up and begin cleaning, but he stopped and looked over at Charlie first. "Your headache gone?"

Charlie paused a minute gauging the pain. It wasn't as bad as before, more like just a dull throbbing now, not even as bad as a hangover.

"Yeah, it's mostly gone," he replied getting ready for when he was sure the conman would kick him out of the tent.

"Ok. Good. Because I'm kinda loud when I have to clean," Sawyer stated before beginning to grab his stuff and place everything in its correct place.

Charlie looked at him confused for a few moments and then went back to resting. Sawyer would let him know when he needed to leave, and he really wasn't looking forward to facing the others before he absolutely had to.

A barely noticeable noise alerted them both to someone's presence on the other side of tent only moments before Kate entered.

No one knocks around here. Charlie thought to himself as he watched the beautiful brunette waltz right up to Sawyer.

"I like what you've done with the place," Kate said sarcastically to Sawyer as she glanced around the disarrayed area.

"Maid's day off," the man replied back evenly as he reached to pick up a shirt.

Kate firmly stepped on it, preventing him from lifting it.

"You want to move?"

Charlie noticed that while he still used a playful tone, the older man was getting slightly annoyed by the brunette's boldness. It seemed it wasn't just Jack that he had to control his temper around.

"I heard Jack took your pain killers," she stated with a smirk that even aggravated the musician though the two usually got along really well.

Sawyer rolled his eyes and made a remark about getting to send out one less Christmas card this year. For some reason Charlie found this extremely hilarious and couldn't contain a snicker that managed to get out.

"Oh, Charlie, you're here," Kate noticed for the first time.

What is it with these people. It's not like this tent's huge or anything. Why don't they ever notice me? Am I invisible, and someone forgot to tell me? Well, bullocks. You'd think a person would be nice enough to inform a guy when he's become invisible. Wait. I can't be invisible. Of course, on this island it wouldn't really surprise me, but ……oh, bugger I'm rambling again. And they're both staring at me like I'm bonkers or something. Probably am…there I go again.

"Uh, Charlie, you okay?" Kate asked in a semi-concerned voice. Charlie looked up and was kind of amazed to see that both of the other two were staring at him worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled quietly.

"So, Freckles, what'd you really come here for?" Sawyer asked while leering at her.

" Thought you'd like this." She tossed a magazine in front of him. "Figured you'd be running low on reading material."

Both Charlie and Sawyer smirked at the sight of the girly magazine.

"Well, thanks, Freckles, but as much as I'd like to learn how to feather my hair, I lost my damn glasses on the raft. You want to read it to me."

Knowing that Sawyer actually did have another pair of glasses and had carefully hidden them when he had heard someone approaching, Charlie did his best to hide his laughter, making it sound more like a cough.

It didn't help matters, when Kate gave Sawyer a glare that obviously showed that she thought the man was crazy.

"What, you got an appointment or something?"

Kate sighed. "Why don't you have Charlie read it to you?"

"Because I don't think the kid's any more capable of reading the thing right now than I am. Besides, the doc said he's supposed to be resting, and I'm actually quite interested in hearing what that thing has to say about low maintenance hair care. Hard to buy the proper products around here, ya know."

Kate gave him an actual smile before taking a seat between the two men and flipping to a random article in the magazine, and Sawyer lifted up the doorway of the tent to let more light through, so she could see better due to the fact that it was starting to get slightly overcast outside.

"10 Ways to Tell If He's a Sensitive Man. Alright, boys, let's see which one of you is the more sensitive."

As she started reading the article, Locke walked by on his way to get some water for Claire and Aaron. Other than sending a glare in their direction, he didn't say anything not wanting to risk a fight with the Southern man again. Sawyer glared back at him while Charlie withdrew into himself, attempting to make himself unseen. Kate shifted uneasily not liking the tension.

As soon as the man was out of sight, they all relaxed, and Kate began reading again. Soon they were all shocked as the sky began pouring out rain, and the wind blew it through the tent door, soaking them all. Sawyer quickly jerked the flap of the tent down to prevent them from getting any wetter.

Suddenly a scream sounded in the distance. Sawyer and Kate both jumped up. "Charlie, stay here," Sawyer commanded the younger boy and then turned to Kate. "Stay with him."

"But.."

Sawyer gave her a firm look, and she immediately took her seat next to Charlie again. The conman gave them once last glance before taking off in the direction the shriek had come from.

Charlie watched him leave then gently leaned back against the tent. His head was killing him again. Kate noticed and moved to help him get comfortable.

"Ta," he whispered before drifting off to sleep.

**Ok. It's an itty bit longer than my previous chapters, and I would have kept going if it weren't for the fact that I promised someone I'd update one of my other fics this weekend as well. However, I'm going to be working on the next chappy tomorrow, so it just might be posted this weekend.**


	5. Chapter 5

** Disclaimer: I have given up almost all hope of ever owning any part of this show.**

**Hey! Everybody! Lookie, it's a new chappy! I feel so accomplished. (Ok. no, I don't, but I do feel less lazy.)**

Charlie woke as Sawyer reentered the tent. "You okay, kid?" Sawyer asked concernedly taking in the younger man's ragged appearance. He was beginning to wonder if maybe something else wasn't wrong with the musician besides the concussion.

Charlie nodded, and before he could question him further, Kate jumped in.

"Who screamed?"

"It was Sun. Someone jumped her in her garden."

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine. There's something weird going on though. Why would someone jump her and just leave her unconscious?"

Kate glared at Ana who standing a little ways off. "It's her."

"What?" Sawyer asked, following her gaze.

"It's all part of their plan to get the guns. You need to go tell Locke that they're coming."

"Me? Have you forgotten that I just beat the guy up yesterday? Why do I need to tell him?"

"Sawyer, please," she begged him.

"And just where are you going to be?"

"I'm going to go check on Sun."

"Fine," he sighed exasperated. "I'll go tell Locke about the precious guns."

"Thank you," Kate replied and hopped up. "Take it easy, Charlie," she told the younger man before leaving the tent.

A few moments later, Hurley appeared at the tent. Sawyer turned to the large man. "Nice job."

"Thanks, but from here on, you're own your own. I left the radio with Sayid to keep him busy, and I made sure to cause enough of a distraction with Sun that the rest of them shouldn't catch on for awhile."

"Good. Now, get out of here before someone notices you."

Hurley nodded and left quickly.

Charlie glanced at Sawyer. "How did you manage to convince him to help us?"

"Let's just say we're not the only ones sick of the holier-than-thou attitude that certain people on this island have. Now, ready to get started on your part that plan?"

Charlie grinned. "Are you?"

Sawyer reached a hand down to pull the other man up. The sudden movement caused the musician to sway a moment before he was able to steady himself.

"Are you sure, you're up for this?"

"I'm fine. Let's just get this started."

Sawyer made his way toward the hatch while Charlie moved to hide a little farther in the jungle.

After a few moments, he saw Locke exit the hatch carrying the guns. Taking a moment to wonder slight about how exactly the Southern man had been able to convince John to move the guns, he carefully paced himself to follow just out of the man's notice.

He watched as Locke carefully hid their only real weapons before meticulously covering his tracks as he made his way back to the hatch.

Charlie moved to uncover the just hidden guns after double-checking to make sure Locke was far enough away. Several minutes later he heard some more movement in the woods. "Kid?"

He was really going to have to remind Sawyer that he had a name. He walked up to where the Southern man was standing.

"He never saw you, huh?"

"No, he was more worried about his sodden guns than being followed."

"Good."

"Now what?"

"Now, you're going back to my tent and staying there for a while," Sawyer answered while picking up the guns.

"C'mon. You can't just cut me out of the plan now."

"I'm not cutting you out of the plan. I'm making sure you don't get involved in any of the fights."

"Oh, and you think you can just go up against everyone alone?"

Sawyer shook his head. "Fine," he handed Charlie one of the guns. "Only use that if you have to. I don't want to waste any bullets. You do know how to use a gun, don't you?"

"Yes, now let's go already."

Sawyer and Charlie made their way through the woods. In the distance, they could hear Jack and Locke arguing. Sawyer moved to walk in front of him and fired three shots.

Jack turned to Locke. "You gave him the guns?"

"No, I hid them."

"That's right, Jack. He's as stupid as you are. You were so busy worrying about each other you never even saw me coming, did you? How about you listen up because I'm only going to say this once. You took my stuff. While I was off trying to get us help -- get us rescued -- you found my stash and you took it, divvied it up -- my shaving cream, my batteries, even my beer. And then something else happened, you decided these two boys here were going to tell you what to do and when to do it," Sawyer motioned towards Sayid and Locke. "Well, I'm done taking orders. And I don't want my stuff back. Shaving cream don't matter; batteries don't matter. The only that matters now are guns. And if you want one you're going to have to come to me to get it."

Charlie then watched as Sawyer turned on Sayid, who was glaring at them. "Oh, you want to torture me, don't you? Show everybody how civilized you are. Go ahead, but I'll die before I give them back. And then you'll really be screwed, won't you? There's some new sheriffs in town, boys! You all best get used to it."

**Please R&R. My muse feed off reviews! Next chapter should be up soon. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I can't believe how fast I've been getting reviews on this story! It's great! My muse is so inspired!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own, although I do take the boys out to play every now and then. ( or maybe I was asleep then. 0.0)**

**Oh well, on to the story……**

There it goes again. Sawyer groaned and buried his head farther into the small pillow. "Make it stop…" he whined pathetically.

Charlie chuckled, but didn't say anything because he didn't want to risk facing the Southern man when he had just woken up, especially since there was no coffee on this island to make the older man a little more peaceable in the mornings.

After the new "announcements" the night before, it had been decided, mostly by Sawyer, that Charlie would be sticking around in his tent for several reasons.

_"Reason 1: Claire's kicked you out. Reason 2: Basically, except for me and a few other people, all the inhabitants of this whole island are out to get you. Reason 3: Ok. Well, there's probably another reason even if it is just the fact that you can run some 'errands' for me."_

The noise sounded again, and this time Sawyer fully woke up. "I'm going to kill it." Charlie shook his head as he watched the older man get up and leave the tent. He then went back to sleep with only one thought on his mind. Real rock stars don't wake up before noon.

Sawyer stood outside in tent and looked around for the source of his annoyance. Where was it? "This is unbelievable." Just then he saw Jin walk by. "Hey! Hey, you hear that thing? You hear that frog--that frog?  
You want to help me find it? and squash it.

The Korean man didn't reply just gave him a dirty look and walked off. "What? We ain't friends anymore?" Sawyer called out after him. What was up with him?

Giving up on getting the other man's help, the Southern man headed towards the woods. He had a frog to catch.

A few hours later, Charlie woke up to find that Sawyer was still gone. He looked around. Except for reading or maybe playing his guitar (which he had remembered to move into Sawyer's tent along with the rest of his stuff), there wasn't much else to do. Starting to feel a sense of claustrophobia and severe boredom come on, he grabbed the gun Sawyer had given him to keep and secured it in his waistband, making sure his loose hoodie was pulled down to hide it. He looked through the opening of the tarp and made sure no one was around before getting out and walking down the shore to a more deserted area of the beach. Sure, Sawyer could just waltz around wherever he wanted to, but Charlie wasn't that lucky. He couldn't take a punch quite as well as the con man.

When he found a spot that he liked, he sat down and stared out at the endless miles of ocean. For a few minutes, he found his mind replaying all the event with Claire and Turniphead….wait, it was Aaron to him now. He didn't deserve to have any kind of attachments to the baby.

The sound of footsteps in the sand jerked his attention away from his thoughts. He had to stop daydreaming so deeply; people kept sneaking up on him without him noticing and with his new reputation that was a dangerous situation for him to be in.

Looking up, he saw Sayid coming towards him. Immediately he thought about reaching for the gun, but remembering that Sayid had been trained in the Republican Guard he thought it might be better if he didn't let the man know he had something he wanted.

He felt himself tense up as the former communications officer took a seat next to him. Even when Sayid began chatting in a somewhat "friendly" manner, he didn't let his guard down.

"There is a man down in the hatch. A stranger captured by Rousseau. I beat him. I beat him badly."

Charlie thought a few moments. _Rousseau, oh, the crazy French woman._ "Why are you telling me this, Sayid?

"Jack asked me how I knew -- knew for sure that this man was lying. How I knew for sure that he was one of them -- one of the Others. I know because I feel no guilt for what I did to him. But there is no way I can ever explain that to Jack, or even Locke, because both of them have forgotten."

Charlie cringed as Sayid mentioned the two men he had the biggest problem with on the island. "Forgotten? What?"

"That you were strung up by your neck and left for dead. That Claire was taken and kept for days during which god only knows what happened to her. That these people -- these Others -- are merciless, and can take any one of us whenever they choose. So tell me, Charlie, have you forgotten?"

Had he forgotten? How could someone forget being hung and left for dead? And why exactly did Sayid care? Was this just some sort of plan to get Charlie to join his side, or was the other man actually concerned for other people's safety?

Before he could answer, a third person joined their little conversation. "Charlie!" Charlie looked up at Sawyer. The Southern man gave him a nod indicating he should get up and follow him. The musician quickly got up and hurried over to stand near him, wondering exactly when he began to feel safe in the older man's presence.

After Sawyer made sure he was placed between Charlie and Sayid, he addressed the other man. "Mohammad, torture anyone new lately?" Sayid angrily got to his feet. However, instead of attacking Sawyer or getting pulled into another verbal argument, he realized the irony of what the Southern man had just said. He had just tortured a man. Was Sawyer actually right about him? No, there was no way Sawyer could right, especially not about him. He shook his head and stormed off.

Sawyer turned to face Charlie. "Kid, are you suicidal?" When the younger man just stared blankly at him, he laughed. "C'mon. I'm hungry. You wouldn't believe what happened today," he suddenly stated and headed back towards the camp. Charlie followed the Southern man, listening as he began telling about chasing some frog and Hurley and ranch sauce. As if things couldn't get any stranger on this island.

**Hey! I just realized that this story is heading in a more slash direction than friendship. Ok, because I'm good with either, I always like to get the reviewers opinion. So, who votes slash, and who votes just friendship?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok. Sorry sorry sorry for the huge delay. I've had play practice like everyday since the beginning of January, and today's like my only day off until after the performances next week.**

**Disclaimer: do not own. (I'll think of a better one next time.)**

**Also on the last chapter I asked you guys if you wanted slash or friendship. I got a majority for friendship, so I guess that's what I'll go with. Sorry my slash friends. However, if you're anything like me, I know you'll continue reading and watch for any undertones of slashiness, and since the author of this fic happens to be very into slash, there will be several.**

He had to do it. He just had to question the strangeness of the island didn't he? And now he had just jinxed them all. Turniphead was sick or had a rash something like that, and Kate and Claire decided to have a girls' day because of it? All Charlie really knew was that they had taken a gun, which had apparently ticked off Sawyer from all the comments the man had been making about crazy women, guns, and PMS.

Of course, seeing how Kate had "requested" the gun, Charlie could see how the older man might be a little annoyed at not having been asked to join them.

_Charlie glanced up from where he sat strumming his guitar as Kate determinedly made her way towards Sawyer. The Southern man quickly finished whatever sentence he had been reading in his book and looked up at the woman._

_Taking that as her cue, Kate seemed to gather more resolve before stating, "I need a gun, and you don't get to ask why." Well, wasn't that polite of her. Charlie rolled his eyes and continued to watch interested in how Sawyer would handle everything. The conversations those two had kind of reminded the musician of a tennis match._

_"Well, Thelma, seeing as I got all the guns, I do get to ask why."_

_And a point goes to the conman._

_"No, you don't," the brunette responded evenly. While not creative, the comeback was forcefully stated giving Kate a point as well._

_"Yes, I do. …Watch…..Why?" A little childish, but the retort did work._

_And it's 2-1._

_Kate was getting exasperated. "Just give me a gun, Sawyer."_

_And the score remains 2- 1._

_"Check it out -- I found a new pair of glasses damn near my prescription. You like 'em?" He shows Kate the glasses that he had hidden from her just the other day._

_The redneck decides to go with a new strategy ' distract and overcome'._

_"Alright, I'm going into the jungle to track down Rousseau."_

_And Sawyer wins the first match._

_"The French chick? What for"  
Get ready. The second match has begun._

_" Claire thinks she knows where there might be some medicine. The baby's sick." At this both Charlie and Sawyer look surprised. Attacking the opponents' weakness._

_Score: 0-1_

_"Well, hell, I got medicines."_

_And Team Conman attempts to regroup._

_"She thinks he's really sick -- as in quarantine sick."_

_Score: 0-2, with little hope of significant change._

_"What do you think?" At this point, Charlie's hoping that Kate says she thinks Claire's just being an overprotective mother, because he really doesn't want anything to be wrong with Aaron._

_"I think she's a little too worried, but she's going after Rousseau with or without me." Charlie's' little relief over the Turniphead not actually being dangerously ill is quickly replaced with a new worry for Claire's safety._

_"No boys allowed, huh?"_

_And while Kate shakes her head in affirmation, Sawyer notices Charlie's expression._

_"Alright, what do you want --9 millimeter or rifle?"_

_And the second match goes to Kate._

Charlie looks over as Sawyer takes a seat next to him on the warm sand.

"They should have been back by now," he mutters irritably.

The musician can't blame him, he's just as frustrated himself. They had both spent the entire day worrying over the girls and waiting for them to get back.

Charlie lays back and places the back of his hand on his now aching head. For a few days, he had actually began to feel better, but that morning his headache had returned full force and stressing over Claire, Aaron, and Kate hadn't done anything to help.

A few moments later, when he hears Sawyer mumble, "Well, look at that, they're back in one piece." Charlie shoots up and stares in the direction that the other man's looking.

When he sees Kate and Claire walking towards the camp, Charlie's sure he's never felt such a sense of relief before. Wanting nothing more than to run over to Claire, kiss her, and make sure she's alright, Charlie has to fight himself to remain sitting and just watch from the distance as the adorable blonde makes her way to find Aaron and Jack. He knows that beside him, Sawyer is also doing everything in his power not to jump Kate.

_And I thought the guys with accents always got the girls….._

**Tbc…..**

**Hey, guys, I'm apologizing in advance for any spelling, grammar, or flow mistakes I might have made, but I really just wanted to update this piece. This was probably one of the more difficult chapters I had to write as in the actual episode very little is shown of what Sawyer is doing, and I'm pretty sure that Charlie isn't shown at all.**

**I'm really excited about the next chapter. I've got this great plot twist, and I know I'm going to make at least one reviewer very happy. cough Alix Zin cough Next chappy will be up by March 30!**


	8. Chapter 8 part a

**Ok sorry sorry sorry! I lied about the update date. (but just a little) see my teacher kinda didn't pay attention while assigning homework for us the past week. (college schedules do funny things to teachers' brains) and anyway I spent the entire week composing secondary dominant chords in both major and minor pieces then analyzing the pieces and did I mention that I'm a music theory and composition major? Yeah. That should explain some stuff.**

**Anyways, this chapter isn't exactly finished. (normally I end the chapter where that episode had ended.) but I wanted to post something anyway because I'm not sure when I'll have time to update. (maybe tomorrow though because it's registration day) Disclaimer: (set to the tune of _ring around the roses_)**  
_I do not own this sho-ow_  
_If I did all the men would be ga-ay_.  
_Don't sue. Don't sue._  
_Or I won't be able to update for you_.

**Ok. Not my best work, I actually had a really cute disclaimer set to the tune of pop goes the weasel, but I was driving at the time and couldn't write it down so now I've forgotten it. I get really strange stuff stuck in my head**.

The next day Charlie woke up with that feeling you get when you just **know** that you're going to have a bad day. However, since he had been having that feeling almost everyday since they had landed and the delightful little island, he merely shrugged it off and left the tent to greet the day.

As usual there was Sawyer…..reading….again. Charlie was really beginning to wonder if that was an extremely good book, or Sawyer had actually ran out of ideas for ways to cause trouble. Charlie sighed heavily and plopped onto the sand.

"What's with you?" Sawyer asked not even bothering to shift his eyes from his reading.

"I'm bored," Charlie moaned and only after saying it realized how childish he had sounded.

Sawyer chuckled. "Aren't you a little old to be whining?"

"Like you're one to talk," the younger man mumbled under his breath then quickly glanced up hoping Sawyer hadn't heard him.

From the expression on his face, the conman had definitely heard him but had actually found the comment more amusing than annoying. Charlie wondered when exactly he had gained the relationship with Sawyer where he was brave enough to say something like that to a guy who would normally bite off someone's head for even looking at him wrong. At the same time Sawyer was trying to figure out when he had gotten so used to having the kid around, and why he didn't find him exasperating anymore.

"Well, what do you normally do when you're bored?" Sawyer questioned finally looking away from his book.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just usually help out with one of whatever projects are happening."

"Okay then. Go see the doc, his highness is normally giving out commands at this time of day."

"You really think things have calmed down here enough that I can go out now without anyone attacking me or anything?"

"You're not really going to go see the doc are ya?" Sawyer gave him a stare that Charlie interpreted as an 'are you high' look.

"No, but there's got to be something somewhere on the bloody island to do."

"Fine, but take one of the guns with you and make sure no one knows you have it unless it's completely necessary for you to use it. Got it?"

Charlie gave a quick nod and grabbed one of the guns from where Sawyer had carefully hidden them in the tent. He tucked it into his waistband like before making sure his hoodie covered it entirely .

A few minutes later he found himself wandering down the beach still bored. Suddenly a rather loud thud caused him to speed up his pace a little, and he ran ahead a few feet only to see Sayid struggling to move a large piece of wood.

He only hesitated a moment before calling out. "Need some help?"

Sayid gave him a grateful smile. "Help would be greatly appreciated," he called back.

Charlie nodded and ran over to give him a hand.

Sawyer once again glared down at the words on the page trying to convince himself to concentrate on what they were saying instead of worrying over what Charlie was doing. The kid was old enough to watch out for himself…….Sawyer hated having to worry about other people. What was he getting himself into hanging out with the rockstar?

Just as he was getting back into his story, a soft voice called out his name.

"Sawyer?"

"Well, hey there, Sunshine, what can I do for you?" For some reason he had always liked Sun. Maybe because she was one of the few people on the entire island who hadn't done anything to annoy him….yet.

"How's your book?" Oh, she was going to play that game was she. Well, Sawyer wasn't that stupid.

"Predictable, not enough sex." Let's see how she handled that.

"I heard that you have all the medical supplies." Apparently she could handle crude comments quite well.

"You heard correct."

"May I look through them?"

Sawyer had to chuckle at her sweet tone. He wouldn't require her to give him anything if she actually needed something, but he couldn't make it easy for her either. He had a reputation to protect.

"No, you may not. But if you'll tell me what you're looking for…."

"Forget it," she replied as she turned to leave.

He quickly followed her. Best not to upset one of the few people who liked you. "Okay, hold on. Now I'm intrigued. Tell you what, tell me what you're looking for and it's yours, gratis"

"Can't I just look myself?"

Ok, now Sawyer was very curious.

"It's not a drugstore, sweetheart."

"I need a pregnancy test."

Sawyer was glad that sand was soft or he could have seriously hurt himself when he jaw plummeted to the ground.

tbc...

Please Review. Please. Anyone? Ok. I know people are reading this because that little stat thingy is nice enough to put in your account's info thing. (wow. I sound smart) but where are the reviews? please. my muses thrive off feedback.

I'm not going to be like those people who say they won't update until they get more reviews simply because:

1) I know you guys would know I was lying.  
2) As long as I have one person interested, I'll keep posting. (just have to get better at remembering to update on a regular basis)  
3) True writers write to make themselves happy. It doesn't matter if no one else likes their stuff, as long as they're happy then it's a good enough reason to continue. (However, when people do like what the writer writes it does give them more inspiration.)


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